"Hi Ho Silver Lining" is a rock song, written by American songwriters

Scott English Sheldon David "Scott" English (January 10, 1937 – November 16, 2018) was an American songwriter, arranger and record producer. He is best known as the co-writer of "Brandy" which he wrote with Richard Kerr. This song became a No. 1 hit fo ...

and

Larry Weiss Laurence D. "Larry" Weiss (born March 25, 1941) is an American songwriter and musician. He wrote "Rhinestone Cowboy", a US no.1 hit for Glen Campbell in 1975; and co-wrote "Bend Me, Shape Me", "Hi Ho Silver Lining" and several other international ...

and first released as a single in March 1967 by English band The Attack, then a few days later by

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...

. The Attack's version failed to chart, while Beck's recording reached the Top 20 of the singles chart in his native Britain in both 1967 and 1972, becoming his biggest solo hit. In the States, Beck's single failed to crack ''Billboard'''s

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

Background

Songwriters English and Weiss started writing a song together, with a chorus of "Hi ho silver lining", but no verses. When producer

Mickie Most Michael Peter Hayes (20 June 1938 – 30 May 2003), known as Mickie Most, was an English record producer behind scores of hit singles for acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate ...

heard their early version, he suggested that it would be a hit and persuaded English to complete the lyrics. According to writer and musician Bob Stanley, English wanted to record a finished version of the song himself, so decided to deter Most by writing "the most unusable, stupid lyric he could think up, about flies in pea soup and beach umbrellas". To English's chagrin, Most liked the song, and had Jeff Beck record it.

Jeff Beck version

In May 1967 Beck's version peaked at no. 14 (for three consecutive weeks) on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

during a then lengthy 14-week run. The single spent a further 11 weeks on the chart when reissued in the autumn of 1972, peaking at no. 17 (for three consecutive weeks) in December. In the U.S., Beck's single (released as "Hi-Ho Silver") peaked at no. 123 in May 1967. The song was not included on Beck's album ''

Truth Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth 2005 In everyday language, truth is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise correspond to it, such as beliefs ...

'' when first released in 1968, but featured as a bonus track on the 2006 reissue. In 1983, in an all-star jam with

Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his disti ...

and Simon Phillips, Beck performed "Hi Ho Silver Lining" live at the

ARMS Charity Concert The ARMS Charity Concerts were a series of charitable rock concerts in support of Action into Research for Multiple Sclerosis in 1983. The first (and initially planned to be the only) event took place at the Royal Albert Hall on September 20, 198 ...

, a charity benefit show for

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

, at London's

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

. The song was resurrected for the "Together and Apart" Japanese and U.S. tours with

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

in 2009 and 2010. According to Kate Mossman, writing in the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

'', Beck "has likened 'Hi Ho Silver Lining' to having a pink toilet seat hung around your neck for the rest of your life."

Formats and track listings

1967 7" single (UK/Holland: Columbia DB 8151, New Zealand: Columbia DNZ 10497, Portugal: Columbia 8E 006-93925) *A. "Hi Ho Silver Lining" (English, Weiss) 2:53 *B. " Beck's Bolero" (Page) 2:52

Chart positions

Personnel

- guitars, vocals *

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...

- bass guitar *

Clem Cattini Clemente Anselmo Agustino Cattini (born 20 August 1937) is an English rock and roll drummer of the late 1950s and 60s, who was a member of The Tornados before becoming well known for his work as a session musician. He is one of the most prolifi ...

- drums *

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

- backing vocals *

- producer

References

External links

The Attack: Hi-Ho Silver Lining
at 45cat.com
The Attack: Hi-Ho Silver Lining
at discogs.com {{authority control 1967 debut singles Psychedelic pop songs Song recordings produced by Mickie Most Songs written by Scott English Jeff Beck songs Songs written by Larry Weiss 1967 songs EMI Records singles